Chris Bunch
Chris Bunch is the co-author (with Allan Cole) of the Sten series
and the Anteros trilogy from Del Rey. On his own, he is the
author of the Shadow Warrior, another SF series from Del
Rey. Both Ranger and airborne-qualified, Chris Bunch was part of the first
troop commitment into Vietnam, a patrol commander and later a
combat correspondent for Stars & Stripes. Later, he edited outlaw
motorcycle magazines and wrote for such magazines as
Look magazine and Rolling Stone. He even wrote for
prime-time television.

The Last Legion is a return to a modern SF setting for Chris Bunch
after his Demon King series. It's a good start to what is quite clearly
the first of a new series. Those acquainted with Bunch's previous work
will find themselves in familiar territory. Take a couple of criminals, drop them into
a brewing mess of interstellar war, racial prejudice and guerrilla warfare, and watch
what happens.

In the first couple of chapters we meet our "heroes." Njangu Yoshitaro is a
professional thief who, despite all of his careful planning,
gets caught by some not-so-honest cops.
Rather than a mind wipe, or life on a prison planetoid, Yoshitaro
chooses the third option offered to him: enlistment in the
Confederation's Army. Elsewhere in the Confederation, a recruiter's prayers
are answered as Garvin Jaansma, a tall, well-built, handsome young man -- a
born leader -- walks into his office and asks to join up. He is not, of
course, quite as perfect as he appears to be. Jaansma and Yoshitaro meet a
bit later as they are boarding the Malvern, the ship that will take
them to the Cumbre system and their new home with Strike Force Swift Lance.

To Petr Kipchak, a veteran soldier, they appear at first to be typical,
naïve young recruits. But both quickly demonstrate that they have some
"special" skills and can take care of themselves. So when the Malvern
is intercepted and captured by the Protector from Larix and Kura, Kipchak takes
Jaansma and Yoshitaro with him when he escapes. They make it to the Cumbre
system in a lifeboat, where no one believes that the Protector could be
responsible. The seizure of the Malvern is attributed to pirates and the three
men are told to keep quiet. Intelligent men that they are, they do as they
are told and begin their training. Kipchak and Yoshitaro join the Intelligence
and Reconnaissance Company while Jaansma becomes a gunner in the infantry.

The books of Chris Bunch all have a few things in common. They are well-written
books with complex plots, intrigue, and great descriptive narratives of battle
and combat. The Last Legion is no exception. There are other
similarities; Jaansma and Yoshitaro may remind you of Sten from Bunch and
Cole's Sten series, or Joshua Wolfe from the Shadow Warrior series.
Bunch's books tend to have male protagonists who are skilled warriors, with
a certain disrespect for authority and in possession of a mixed bag of
questionable skills.

The Last Legion marches into some new territory,
dealing with racial prejudice, class separation, and the difficulty of dealing
with guerilla warfare against an indigenous population. You know you're going
to like Jaansma and Yoshitaro when they both take on bigots who are physically
or verbally abusing the 'Raum.

I only have a couple of criticisms
regarding The Last Legion. I would have liked to have seen more of the
clever planning, the 'dirty tricks,' and the intrigue that are so typical of Bunch's books.
There's a bit of that, but not as much as in some of his other books. Maybe
that will come later. The other point is regarding the various ranks used in the
Legion. What do caud, tweg, finf, mil, dec,
alt and cent mean to you? Anything? How about sergeant, lieutenant,
corporal, major, or general? While you can probably figure out what the various
ranks mean by the time you finish the book, the nonstandard names really don't add
anything to the story, so what's the point?

Fans of Bunch's previous books will not be dissatisfied with
The Last Legion. While there are no big surprises, neither are there any
disappointments. And if you enjoy The Last Legion, I highly recommend that
you seek out the his earlier Sten series.

Todd is a plant molecular developmental biologist who has finally finished
23 years of formal education. He recently fled Madison, WI for the warmer
but damper San Francisco Bay Area and likes bad movies, good science
fiction, and role-playing games. He began reading science fiction at the
age of eight, starting with Heinlein, Silverberg, and Tom Swift books, and
has a great fondness for tongue-in-cheek fantasy Óla Terry Pratchett, Craig
Shaw Gardner and Robert Asprin.